The Biggest State Fair

Saturday, Sept 4 Today we decided to go to the Minnesota State Fair, billed as the largest State Fair in the country. I had never been to a State Fair, only the MIddlesex County Fair. I figured it was a lot of animals, rides, food, and booths of various kinds. And that's exactly what it was. But GINORMOUS!

Mother Earth Scarecrow

 

 

 We drove into the city and found (after one wrong try) the parking deck where the shuttle was leaving from to take people to the fair. The numbers of people who show up is so huge that there's no way to have enough parking at the fairgrounds, so there are a half-dozen places around Minneapolis where you can do the park-and-ride thing. Parking was free, but the bus cost $6/pp . This was only the beginning of the insistent drain on our finances to attend this extravaganza, but it was worth it--it made it very easy to park and get to the fair.

We bought tickets and went inside, and were immediately overwhelmed. There were thousands of people there already. BTW, there were signs about wearing masks indoors and when "in crowds" outside, but there were very few masks outdoors. (The bus required them, so at least everyone was masked there.) Anyway, I had no idea where to go first, so we went to the information desk and I asked for suggestions. They explined where the 6 sound stages were, where the animal barns were, the agriculture buildings, the craft buildings, etc. Then they gave me the brochure specific to that day, which listed EVERYTHING that was happening.

Joey and I wandered off, deciding that we needed a drink first. We just strolled down one of the streets-- it was non-stop food options, including unusual stuff like deep fried olives ("Olive you SOOO much!"), alligator, and I forget what-all else. It was a food extravaganza, and so much that we couldn't even THINK about what we wanted, because we were sure that the next booth would sound even better. So we got some coke and some water and kept walking. After about 30 minutes, I said, "We just have to DECIDE." I was looking for something maybe a little bit healthier, but not coming up with much. So in the end, we got a plate of ribboned potatoes (which was like instantly made potato chips) served like nachos, with a choice of toppings. We got sriracha chicken, but ruined the healthy aspect by getting melted cheese and sour cream on top. Then we found a set on a bench someplace and ate, while crowds of people walked past us.

After that, we kept walking. We found the agriculture building, which we really thought was interesting. There was a section on bees and honey, which had not just beehives, but all the categories of fair entries which "went with" bees and honey: baking with honey (categories for bread, cookies, pie, etc), crafts which featured bees or honey, etc. The next section had seeds. Yes, they judge SEEDS at the Minnesota State Fair. We looked at boxes full of seeds, and walls of corn on the cob, some of which had won ribbons (they all looked precisely the same to me; it seems the seeds were also judged on germination, which of course we did NOT see.) And then, crafts made with seeds (like pictures using different colored seeds to create a picture). There was a section on plants/flowers, one on farm machinery, it just went on and on. I loved the creative scarecrows we saw--those were the best!

Scarecrow Line-up and Vintage Seed Sacks

 

Then we found the animals. We went inside an almost empty arena and watched the bulls being judged. The woman describing them was so funny--she described their "conformation" and said things like how she liked seeing their musculature, and "this one has the masculinity I like to see in a bull." Joey says to me, "She's talking about his penis!" LOLOL! I have no idea how one bull looks more "masculine" than another! Then we went to the horse barn, which was more crowded. But we saw some pretty horses (no judging going on that we could find.) We skipped the goats and sheep--we'd had enough animals by that time. I also walked through the international bazaar while Joey people-watched, and we ate a little more-- we got a sausage sampler plate (Polish, anduille, and Italian--all hand made) and i got a bowl of sweet corn ice cream! (It was very good.) 

All in all, we were very good about not eating too much. We did not go on any rides. We just walked around being amazed at the sheer size of it all, and somehow we missed the crafts building, which I would have liked to see (thinks like quilting and painting). 

Overall, it was just a mob scene. I don't remember when I saw that many people in one place BEFORE the pandemic. I think it must have been because it was the last weekend of the fair, was Labor Day weekend, and was Saturday. But in any case, it was crazy. And NOISY. When we first got there around 1pm, we could get food without standing in line. But by the time we left at 5:00 or so, there were lines for everything. Joey was exhausted, though, so we called it day, trudged back to our bus stop, and took the shuttle bus back to the parking deck, and then drove another 20 minutes to get back to the RV. It was a long day, but we really liked it! A lot of fun just experiencing the energy and watching everyone else have a great time too. We were very glad we

went.

We Take a Break for Indulgence

Gallatin River along US 191

2019-09-05 Thursday

Today was, I think, a first for us— a day when we left our RV and spent the night in a fancy resort instead. It was all at the generous instigation of Joe’s sister Betsy and her husband Sean. For 15 years, they have been coming to a fabulous fishing-oriented resort in Montana on the Yellowstone River, and talking about it with great excitement, enthusiasm, and love. This year, it worked out perfectly for us to meet them here for dinner—a doubly perfect day because it was Sean’s birthday. Then they generously offered to put us up in the cabin next door to them, and their insistence and enthusiasm won us over. So our RV is out in the parking lot, and Joe, Cassie and I are cozily occupying a lovely cabin with an extraordinary view of the river and mountains right outside the back window of our room.

We left West Yellowstone this morning to start our remarkable day, but first we had to upload the blog, dump our waste tanks, revisit the post office, and eat some lunch when those other tasks took us way beyond noon. We didn’t even leave our campsite very early, despite other campers coming in who were eyeing our site eagerly. In the end, someone paid for our spot while we were still in it, and waited at the site until we left so her husband could pull their rig into it. We had had a good choice of empty sites when we arrived at noon on Monday, but the campground was full last night, and as I said, there was a push to grab sites today. I suspect the place will be full all weekend, too.

Joe and I, meanwhile, went to do our chores in town, and at about 1:30 or so we finally headed north on US 191 along the Montana/Wyoming border toward Bozeman, Montana. The drive was beautiful, with the road following the Gallatin River for a lot of the drive and even 20 miles or so inside Yellowstone, where the road cut into the park. The mountains were beautiful but it was really the river which was captivating.

We arrived at the Yellowstone Valley Lodge at about 5pm, after stopping in Bozeman at the CVS to pick up some prescriptions we had phoned in, and detached the Jeep from the RV so we could park the latter in the parking lot. Then we threw some overnight clothes and toiletries into the Jeep, and drove it to the front of our cabin. Betsy and Sean, meanwhile, returned from their day fishing just in time to greet us at the door to our side-by-side cabins. 

Yellowstone River from our cabin’s patio

I immediately understood why they love this place so much—the back patio of each cabin looks directly onto the Yellowstone River, only a dozen yards away, and the deeply colored mountains on the other side. The four of us spent some time visiting on the patio (Cassie enjoyed hanging outside there with us—there was even some grass for her to lie in) and then we all went to clean up before dinner. It was hard to leave that view, though!

Yellowstone River from our cabin’s patio

Dinner proved to be good enough to justify leaving the view behind. B&S have claimed for years that this is one of the best restaurants ever, and they were not kidding. First of all, the restaurant is basically outside, although there are glass walls in several places to cut any wind (there wasn’t any tonight) and to keep the temperature comfortable. Second, they seem to know the entire staff personally after all these years, and are treated like beloved family rather than tourists staying at the lodge. Third, the menu is totally unique and fascinating, and the food was prepared with real excellence. The service was personal and, because it was Sean’s birthday, they kept bringing us extras to celebrate the day. We were there for several hours, talking and laughing and enjoying all the little details. For example, Betsy had made sure to ask them to make iced tea, because she knows that’s what Joe likes to drink. She is amazingly thoughtful, and the staff was incredibly accommodating. This was just not your usual dining experience in any way, shape or form! It was a truly memorable evening for all of us.

And the good thing about it being so memorable is is— as before, I forgot to take any photos of the four of us!!! Tomorrow B&S are getting up early as usual to go fishing (I think they may be heading back down to Yellowstone, which is only about 50 miles south of here), but Joey and I will be getting up later than that, so we most likely won’t see them in the morning. We’ve been told that the breakfast is included with the meal, and that it is at the same level of fabulous as the dinner we just ate, so we are looking forward to that as well. And then we will have to return to the mundane world of our RV (not that we don’t love it, but the views aren’t as consistently stunning as those of our cabin) and head for Bozeman. 

A Postscript: A few days ago, I described visiting Steamboat Geyser, and that there were people sitting in chairs waiting for it to erupt. It is one of the largest geysers in the park, I’ve read. Anyway, I think that was on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday night, Joe and I heard a very loud roaring sound. It was like nothing we’d ever heard before, and we couldn’t figure it out. Joe kiddingly said, “Maybe Steamboat erupted and that’s what it was!” We both kind of laughed at that. But today, when we had some internet and phone connections, Joe looked it up— and it WAS Steamboat! We heard it all the way in our campsite, outside the park. It was probably about 20 miles or so as the crow flies. That was LOUD!!

24 Hours in Santa Fe

"Auntie Gwen Goes to the Opera"

August 25, 2015

We woke up this morning ready to explore Santa Fe with our host/tour guide/chauffeur Alan. Our first destination was up in the hills where Alan and Sue have purchased land to build their dream retirement home. The house is not yet started, but Joe and I could imagine it through Alan’s descriptions—as well as appreciate the view from the top of their property. The vista was stunning! The air was crisp and there was not a sound to be heard except the breeze. It was absolutely glorious. We are hoping that the next time we return, the house will be finished and we can stay for longer than an hour.

The view from Alan and Sue's property

Our next stop was at the Shidoni Foundry and Sculpture Gardens. The foundry is open to the public at certain times, including on Saturdays when they do the pouring. The pieces in the sculpture garden were all for sale, and they were wonderful—diverse and interesting. I saw more than one which I would have liked to own—I kept telling Alan that he should consider buying this one or that one for his property. I did find one artist whose work I could have found room for in Highland Park—both at home and in front of Joe’s office. They were quirky and entertaining! But the entire park was great—we love sculpture gardens and this one did not disappoint.

Shidoni Sculpture Garden

By the time we left, we were all feeling a little faded from the heat, since we’d been outside for several hours. Alan headed for the center of Santa Fe again—this time, the street where his grandfather used to live! It is now in a very desirable part of town along the Santa Fe River, which is not large but was delightfully rushing along its rocky bed. We parked next to it and crossed it to Canyon Road to eat on the patio at El Farol, Santa Fe’s oldest restaurant. We all had cups of soup and selections from the tapas menu—my “flash fried” avocado with salsa and lime yogurt was fabulous! Joe had a tapas sampler,and Alan had a dish of olives and anchovies. We made a big mistake by not taking photos of the dishes before we attacked them, because they were each a small work of art. Plus totally delicious!

After lunch, we all agreed we were ready for a siesta. So we drove back to Alan’s and agreed to meet at 3pm for more adventure. Joe and I both fell asleep, but after we woke up, Joe told me that he was concerned about the RV’s systems. Although we’d gotten as level as possible, the refrigerator was having difficulty cooling our food. In addition, it was quite hot out, but because we had not stopped for gas on our way into town, and we were quite low, our generator couldn’t work. As a result, using a fan to cool off the RV was draining our battery. We realized that we were going to have to move to an RV park in order to hook up and restore our battery and let the refrigerator cool down appropriately.

We found an RV park about 15 minutes away from Alan’s apartment, so we called and they had room for us for tonight. We let Alan know what was going on; then we packed up and drove down to the RV park, filling the gas tank on the way. The people at the park were very nice—it has lots of amenities which of course we won’t use, but it’s nice to know they are there. We hooked up to the electricity and turned on the air conditioner for Cassie to wait for us, and Alan drove in 10 minutes later to pick us up so we could continue our sightseeing tour.

We were all noticing how hot it had gotten, so we escaped the heat by driving up into the mountains to the base of the ski resort. This drive took us through the forests, where eventually we left the pinon pines behind and began seeing ponderosas instead. We drove past Hyde Memorial State Park and state forest, and stopped to admire the Tesuque River (the sculpture garden was right near the same river, but thousands of feet lower down) as it tumbled over a small waterfall at the side of the road. We were at more than 9,000 feet when we turned around. There is a pull-out for a view of the valley and surrounding mountains, but it was a bit hazy today—Alan told us that he had read that smoke from the wildfires in the northwest has actually been blown south as far as Santa Fe, and the air is not as clear as it usually is. We all agreed it smelled "delicious, however,

Perfect for Joe's office!

and was cool and refreshing after the hot afternoon. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera, so I couldn’t take any photos of the waterfall.

We noticed as we drove down the mountain again that the temperature did go up, but by the time we reached the center of Santa Fe, it was cool enough to be comfortable. We decided it was time for dinner, but on the way to the restaurant we couldn’t resist going into the local “cheesemonger”, an establishment which Alan recommended to us and Joe jumped at the idea. After lots of tasting, we left with a bag of cheeses and an assortment of interesting crackers to go with it. Then we went to Il Piatto, an Italian restaurant near the center of town. The food there was wonderful—I had pumpkin ravioli, Joe had a wild mushroom gnocchi, and Alan had squid-ink noodles with seafood. We were seated next to an open door so the breeze came in, and it was just delightful.

After dinner, we strolled around a little bit, and hearing the music coming from the Plaza, we went to investigate. All summer there have been free concerts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and tonight was a sort of funk rock band. The music was eclectic, and the musicians even more so, with names like Helena Handbasket, Saxsquatch, and Sweat Stain. The Plaza was crowded with people of every age, many of whom were dancing to the music. I saw a woman who looked a little older than me, with white hair, dancing away, and nearby, an adorable little girl who must have been around 2 years old at the most, wearing a silver tutu, silver glitter boots (rain-boot style), and a pink and white hoodie. She was bopping to the music, as were most of us. Joe was drinking in the scene—he didn’t love the music, but the people-watching (which he loves) was excellent! The entire ambience of the place was just wonderful—everyone having a great time in the cool air. 

Joe and Debbie at lunch

After 30 minutes or so, we strolled back to the car, and Alan returned us to our RV. We passed so many interesting-looking shops and restaurants along the way, it was so tempting to just want to stay for a week at the least. I definitely want to come back—I told Alan that next time, there’s no question that Sue and I will have to spend an entire day just shopping! All those tempting shops with the fabulous clothing that I didn’t get to even walk into! I’m sure Joe was just as happy that we were there both nights after closing time.

As he dropped us off, Alan pointed out that it had been almost exactly 24 hours since we’d arrived in Santa Fe. We seem to have packed so much fun into that time! We were so happy to see him, and even though we missed having Sue there, we did have a great time. Alan's family has lived in Santa Fe for generations--so his roots are deep here and he had plenty of interesting things to tell us about the history of the area, as well as family anecdotes. We are most certainly hoping to come back soon! Meanwhile, I have GOT to decide where we are going tomorrow! It is very tempting to head back up into the mountains, but I *really* want my Arizona sticker for our state map! I guess we’ll see how we feel in the morning.

Flowers in Grass and Glass

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

This morning we continued our drive up Route 7, knowing that we didn't have very far to go before Shelburne, our ultimate destination for the day. Sure enough, only about 30 or so minutes into our drive, we arrived at the Vermont Wildflower Farm. A few years ago Joe bought a LOT of wildflower seeds from this company and scattered them all over our front lawn. We both LOVE wildflowers, although that attempt to naturalize our yard didn't work quite as well as we would have liked (probably our neighbors were not thrilled with the "look", in any case!) But we were interested to see the source of all those lovely flowers.

The building was, indeed, surrounded by fields of wildflowers--so pretty! We went inside first, and bought ourselves some more packages of seeds, this time for Joe's office in the side garden (which is VERY shady--we bought a heavy shade mix), and for the area between the sidewalk and street at home (light shade). We are excited to see how well they grow. The shop itself was so fun, just full of seeds everywhere. I am a terrible gardener but I do love the flowers so much.
After we shopped, we walked in the fields for a little bit. There were informational signs everywhere describing the habits of many of the flowers. We enjoyed it a lot.
When we left the Wildflower Farm, we backtracked to a store we'd passed already--Dakin Farm. This is a place with lots of Vermont food items, including their own cheddar cheese--Joe was having a cheese craving! We got lots of "tastes", then bought some cheddar, some salsa, and a couple of other things, including a local farmer's melon. You can't come to Vermont without buying cheddar cheese--and we are still planning to visit Cabot Creamery for THEIR special cheddar as well.

We then headed up the road again and after a discussion of where to go next, arrived at the Shelburne Museum at about 12:30. We ate some lunch and went in at 1:00 p.m. The museum had sounded good on the Internet, especially because there were two special shows this season--one of vintage motorcycles, and one of items created by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Other than these two shows, we had little idea of what to expect of the museum beyond the brief description in our map, that it was contained in 39 buildings and there were more than a dozen gardens. It sounded unusual.

Well, what can I say--Joe and I were both totally enchanted by the Shelburne Museum!! The museum was created by a woman named Electra Havemeyer Webb. She was incredibly wealthy on her own, and she married James Watson Webb, whose mother was a daughter of William Vanderbilt. In other words, together they were fabulously wealthy. Electra inherited the collecting bug from her parents. Her mother, Louisine Havemeyer, was the first to introduce impressionism to the U.S.--she was a good friend of Mary Cassatt, who guided her in purchasing paintings from all the impressionists. (BTW, Louisine was also a suffragette who was arrested for marching in a demonstration to get the vote for women. She went to jail because she refused to pay the $5 fine!) Electra's father collected Japanese screens, paintings, and other items. I found the story of this family so fascinating that I bought a small book about Electra and the Museum when we left, and finished it in one night.

Whereas Louisine's first acquisition was a Degas painting, Electra's first purchase was a wooden cigar store Indian! She had a passion for American folk art, and literally stuffed her several homes (in Vermont and New York) with collections of dolls, pewter, furniture, dolls houses, toys, needlework, farm implements, hatboxes, weathervanes--basically every conceivable category of folk art. Apparently she simply could not let anything get away from her! When her husband inherited a collection of horse-drawn vehicles from his own parents, Electra began the creation of her own museum, building a special barn to house the vehicles and simultaneously filling a nearby building with some of her own collections.

Her final "collection" was actually the buildings which now house the Shelburne Museum! She had so much stuff, she basically had to buy buildings to keep it in, and the buildings she bought were, like her own collections, examples of Americana. The museum buildings include a schoolhouse, meeting house, stagecoach inn, barns, and 18th and 19th century cottages, as well as a general store, a covered bridge, a lighthouse, and even a boat--the 3-story steamship Ticonderoga. The story of the relocation of this boat from Shelburne Harbor two miles away to the grounds of the museum is absolutely fabulous--how my father would have LOVED this story! The boat was floated onto a specially-made railroad car, which was then hauled overland on special tracks. The video and photos of the move are just wonderful.
We spent 4 hours at the museum until it closed, and were very happy to know that our tickets allowed us entry on a second day--we were only about half through the museum. We started out in the round barn (which is the entry point), visiting the special motorcycle exhibit. (BTW, to anyone reading this blog who doesn't realize it: if you click on any of the photos, they will enlarge. The detail you will see in some of these photos when they are enlarged, fx the circus photos, will really amaze you!)From there, we went to the circus building, first riding on the vintage carousel and then enjoying the circus collection, which included a 550-foot long, hand-carved, scale model of a circus parade, as well as circus posters, carousel animals, a hand-carved circus (by a different person than the maker of the parade), and even a video on historic preservation of the wooden carvings.



From there we went to the Electra Havemeyer Webb Memorial Building, which is a modern building in a Palladian style. It was built specifically so that the rooms from the Havemeyer family's 5th Avenue, New York home (where Electra grew up) could be transported and recreated on the site of the museum. These rooms contain some of the Impressionist art collected by Louisine, including works by Cassatt, Manet, Monet, Corot, and Degas, as well as some of the Japanese pieces collected by Henry Havemeyer.

We went from there to the Tiffany exhibit--which was simply stunning. Not only were there many examples of lamps and windows, but also furniture, flatware, ceramics, and jewelry. Louisine Havemeyer gave Louis C Tiffany a free hand to design much of her home, and the results were simply outrageous. Right down to her incredible flatware set, no two pieces of which were alike! Many of her own items were part of the exhibit.
Naively thinking that everything afterwards would be an anticlimax, we wandered into the Stagecoach Inn, only to be met by an absolutely charming collection of weathervanes, ship figureheads, cigar-store figures, and other miscellaneous examples of wooden and metal folk art.

The setting for these items in the Stagecoach Inn was absolutely brilliant, and I think this is the point where I totally fell in love with the museum. Also, by this time we were dying of curiosity about Electra herself. It was the docent in this building who gave us some more general information about the buildings, the process by which they'd come to be on the grounds, and Electra's own collections. I should add that there were docents in almost every building, but rather than being there to keep people away from the exhibits, they managed to create an atmosphere of friendliness and happiness. The style of display of most of the objects we saw made them seem very accessible. There were very few barriers to the larger pieces, and the result was an experience of intimacy which was truly special.

We wandered around a little more, visiting the schoolhouse and the original building full of pewter, dolls and dollhouses, and (our particular interest) automata; but by then it was 5:00 and they were kicking us out. We drove only a mile further to a campground right in Shelburne, very convenient, since we were by no means finished with the museum and the other sights of this town.